EARLIER RESEARCH REPORTS

A Provincial Lifeline:

Expanding the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program (2011)

One in ten Canadians reportedly suffers from some kind of learning disability, and between 2% and 4% of Nova Scotia public school students – 2,500 to 5,000 – struggle at school with serious learning challenges.

The Tuition Support Program (TSP), initiated in September 2004, gives an option to learning disabled students who cannot be served at their local public school. The TSP provides funding to cover most tuition costs to attend designated special education private schools and public alternative education centres.

In this AIMS research report, author Paul W. Bennett explores the origins and current status of the TSP, and examines the potential for expanding in Nova Scotia outside the Greater Halifax-Truro region.

In A Provincial Lifeline, Bennett recommends a robust provincial policy initiative to close the service gap by expanding the program and extending an educational lifeline to hundreds of students currently marginalized in the public school system. For the full report, see www.aims.ca

The Sky Has Limits: Online Learning in Canadian K-12 Public Education (2011)

Our Society for Quality Education report, The Sky Has Limits, released January 25, 2012, provided an in-depth critical analysis of the state of Online Learning in Canada’s K-12 public schools. The Globe and Mail Education Reporter Kate Hammer filed a story and the report generated lively policy discussion in Canada, the United States, and the U.K. See the full report at http://societyforqualityeducation.org/parents/theskyhaslimits

School's Out, Again: How Throw-Away School Days Hurt Students (2010)

Are we short-changing our students by not insisting upon a minimum number of teaching days in our school year? In Atlantic Canada, why have school officials become so relaxed about declaring so-called ’storm days’ and cancelling school at the first sign of inclement weather? Should we be more vigilant about preserving and protecting the teaching time our children receive in our schools?

Our first major research report, School’s Out, Again: Why “throw away” school days hurt students, (AIMS, April 13, 2010) took a look at the chronic problem of lost schools days in Atlantic Canada and drew stark comparisons with provinces outside the region. It also provides some preliminary evidence of the collateral damage inflicted upon students as well as the public education system. Click on www.aims.ca/library/SchoolsOut.pdf for a full copy of the research report, including recommended policy changes.

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